Thanks again to Rory Sheehan who will be providing match reports and feature articles
Wrexham 2 Mansfield 0
Wrexham look to be back to winning ways after this convincing victory over Mansfield Town. It was just the tonic the Racecourse faithful needed after not witnessing a home victory for over 6 weeks.
Yet more changes were made to the line-up Sam Williamson, Mike Proctor, Wes Baynes and Patrick Suffo failed to make the cut. Obi Anoruo and Jefferson Louis were back up front with Neil Taylor coming in at left-back and Ryan Flynn returning to the side.
The Dragons made a bright, purposeful start and tested the Stags early on. The pressure paid off in the 10th minute when a hand-ball by Scott Garner from a Silvio Spann cross into the box resulted in the referee awarding a penalty.
Up stepped Obi Anoruo with a confidence and maturity beyond his 17-years to coolly fire the ball low into the back of the net to put Wrexham 1-0 up. It was just the start we needed, and another boost for Obi who’d only scored his first senior goal less than 48 hours earlier!
With the bit between their teeth Wrexham continued to push on against a poor Mansfield side. On 25 minutes the lead was doubled by one of Dean Saunders most under-fire recent signings.
A great delivery from the right was met by the diving header of on-loan Welsh international Andrew Crofts. 2-0 up with only a quarter of the game gone, Wrexham were cruising.
Rob Duffy, briefly on loan at Wrexham last season, had a goal disallowed for the away side thus Wrexham kept their 2-0 lead in tact going into half-time.
An early change in the second-half saw Sam Williamson replace the injured John Curtis as Wrexham began the second-half just as well as the first. Mansfield were hanging on a little as Baynes replaced Spann and the Dragons created more chances.
After an excellent showing, Anoruo gave way to Nathan Fairhurst to see out the last quarter of an hour. The best Mansfield could offer in a vain attempt to get back in the game was a series of poor challenges and cynical fouls.
Wrexham didn’t add to their advantage but had done more than enough to secure the 3 points against a lacklustre Mansfield, the result never beyond doubt after the opening half an hour.
There were plenty of positives to take from this game, not least the impact of Anoruo. Two goals, a fine overall performance from the start and the news that he has been awarded a pro’ contract topped off an excellent week for the youngster.
The likes of Andrew Croft and Ashley Westwood showed what they were capable of after deserved recent criticism, and the team as a whole really seemed to up their game and show they can deliver on their potential.
The play-offs still look remote and Mansfield were admittedly very poor, but there should be much to build on from this win. A good run to the end of the season would give everyone at the club a lift.
For that to happen, the Reds must overcome play-off hopefuls Histon on Tuesday, less than a fortnight after falling to a 1-0 defeat away to the BSP’s surprise package…
Thanks to Redstripe121 for the video footage
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